Russia signs military base agreement with former Georgian republic of South Ossetia, following earlier pact with Abkhazia. RIA Novosti | Voice of Russia

“Taliban would think twice if they see one of [the Leopard 2] tanks coming,” says Hellmut Koenigshaus, as Germany considers deployment. Why not ask Canada and Denmark for feedback – they already use the ubertanks in Afghanistan.

MAR Inc., a Rockville, MD-based small business qualifier, received a maximum $30 million cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/ indefinite-quantity contract for operation, maintenance, and repair of the US Navy’s M/V Independence research ship.

The M/V Independence is a diesel-powered vessel designed to operate as an ocean-going, world-wide research ship. The vessel’s home port is the Naval Construction Battalion Center in Port Hueneme, CA, approximately 70 miles north of Los Angeles.

Originally built for the USAF to support space shuttle operations on the West Coast, the Independence is now owned by the Naval Facilities Engineering Service Center (NFESC) and leased for oceanographic research…